ABSTRACT The biennial International Conference on Bacilli and Gram-Positive Bacteria (ICBGPB) will be held July 23-26, 2019 at the University of Maryland campus in College Park, MD. This will be the 20th meeting of the conference. Past ICBGPB conferences attracted scientists from around the world, averaging approximately 350 attendees per meeting. The purpose of the conference is to foster communication and collaboration between scientists engaged in research on Gram-positive bacteria. Gram-positive bacteria fundamentally differ from Gram-negative bacteria in many universal ways. This meeting will explore these differences in 13 sessions over four days. For example, one session will be dedicated to the topic of endospores, from their development to their pathogenicity, while remaining sessions will focus on other aspects of Gram-positive biology, including but not limited to: biofilm formation, interactions with hosts, CRISPR technology, cell wall metabolism, and mechanisms of gene regulation. Each session will feature an invited keynote speaker followed by talks by young investigators, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students drawn from the submitted abstracts. Two poster sessions will provide an additional opportunity for participants to discuss their work face-to-face. The venue of the 2019 ICBGPB meeting was selected because of its geographic location, its excellent facilities, and exceptional conferences and services staff. The location is ideal as it is serviced by three major airports, making it accessible by direct flights from across the USA and many major international cities. A campus theatre hall will be used for the oral sessions, while poster sessions will be conducted in two adjacent, spacious ballrooms. A large block of rooms has been reserved at a reduced rate at a newly built, campus-adjacent hotel. Moreover, the recently renovated dormitory accommodations will be offered at substantially reduced cost. In an era where the per-person costs of international meetings are rapidly increasing, the ICBGPB is committed to offering options that can reduce attendee costs and thereby maximize inclusivity. Our goal is that laboratory heads will be able to afford sending multiple students and postdocs that they mentor. The ICBGPB will be publicized through a combination of online strategies including Twitter and email alerts to previous attendees of this and similar meetings. A dedicated website has been established to publicize the meeting and provide the necessary information and forms required for registration. The ICBGPB remains committed to establishing a balanced representation of women, minorities, and persons of disability.